The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations sponsors World Soil Day every December 5 to focus attention on the importance of healthy soil and the sustainable management of soil resources. Sponsored every year since 2014, this year’s theme focuses on soil pollution. Here is an excerpt from the World Soil Day Website:

“These days pollution is a worry – and soil is also affected. Soil pollution is a hidden danger that lurks beneath our feet.

“1/3 of our global soils are already degraded. Yet we risk losing more due to this hidden danger. Soil pollution can be invisible and seems far away but everyone, everywhere is affected. With a growing population expected to reach 9 billion by 2050, soil pollution is a worldwide problem which degrades our soils and poisons the food we eat, the water we drink, and the air we breathe. The entity of the problem is still unknown as not certain data are available on a global scale.

“Soils have a great potential to filter and buffer contaminants, degrading and attenuating the negative effects of pollutants, but this capacity is finite. Most of the pollutants originate from human activities, such as unsustainable farming practices, industrial activities and mining, untreated urban waste, and other non-environmental friendly practices. As technology evolves, scientists are able to identify previously undetected pollutants, but at the same time these technological improvements lead to new contaminants being released into the environment. In the Agenda for Sustainable Development 2030, the Sustainable Development Goals 2, 3, 12, and 15 have targets that commend direct consideration of soil resources, especially soil pollution and degradation in relation to food security.

“It is time to uncover this threatening reality. Combatting soil pollution requires us to join forces and turn determination into action. Be the solution to soil pollution.”

The biannual Bio Huma Netics, Inc. (BHN), World Conference was held November 6­–9, 2018, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Conference Center in Gilbert, Arizona. The BHN World Conference was attended by 72 Huma Gro®, Huma Gro® Turf, and Probiotic Solutions® product distributors and users representing 18 countries.

Conference attendees were welcomed by BHN President and CEO Lyndon Smith in an opening address with a theme of “Integrity Is Power.” The conference included two days of product information and education presentations, including the official launch of the company’s new Fertilgold® Organics product line for organic agriculture. An awards banquet was held on Thursday evening, and on Friday attendees had an opportunity to tour a local farm and to go horseback riding.

Conference attendees will be receiving an email link to view and download event photos at Flickr. Presentation PDFs have been posted to the BHN Hub; presentation videos will also be posted on the BHN Hub in coming weeks.

BHN alternates its biannual World Conferences in Arizona with regional conferences held on odd-numbered years. The next regional conference will be held in Turkey in 2019.

Agriculture is one of the world’s oldest industries. In fact, many countries’ economies still depend on the agricultural industry. Today, on October 12, we recognize the hard work that goes into feeding a nation. Previously known as Old Farmers Day, National Farmers’ Day dates back to the 1800s, a time when a higher percentage of the population was involved in agriculture, with harvest festivals and events in September and October. National Farmers Day encourages Americans to thank farmers and ranchers for providing the food, clothing, fuel, and materials that we otherwise take for granted.

The Huma Gro® app for iOS smart phones has been released and is available for free at the Apple App Store. The Huma Gro® App provides a foliar application calculator for determining how much product to apply to specific crops on any size of field based on lab analysis, a continuously updated product document library, a product mixing guide, the ability to save product application data and calculations by field, and continuous news and feature updates from the Huma Gro® Website blog.

Justin Smith, Executive Vice President of Huma Gro® Sales, said, “The Huma Gro® app allows growers and distributors to always have the most up-to-date information on every Huma Gro® product (including the label, SDS, and product technical bulletin), and it is very useful in the field to be able to calculate how much product is needed to get the best yields. In addition, the app provides a way for growers and distributors to directly contact the Huma Gro® Sales Team with any questions they may have regarding Huma Gro® products and their use.”

Research by Brenda Tubana, PhD, Louisiana State University

The objective of this study was to compare, for use in Louisiana wheat production, the efficacy of a liquid silicon (Si) fertilizer (Huma Gro® Sili-Max®) with a commonly used dry Si source (steel slag) and another Si source (wollastonite) often used in research as a suspension. Silica deposition is an important barrier for foliar fungal diseases.

The wheat field study was conducted at Louisiana Ag-Center Research Stations. Silicon (Si) treatments were replicated four times and arranged in a randomized block design. There were 2 Huma Gro® Sili-Max® (10% Si) treatments (as a foliar band, and as foliar broadcast sprayed evenly over the entire plot). Each treatment was applied twice within 2 weeks at the onset of internode elongation (Feekes growth stage 5). The dry silicon sources (wollastonite [23% Si] and steel slag [11% Si]) were applied and incorporated into the soil prior to planting. Wheat leaf samples were collected one week after the application of silicon solution sources and evaluated for silica bodies (phytolith) deposition and percentage using scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray analysis.

Sili-Max® foliar band and Sili-Max® foliar broadcast increased grain yield by 10 and 7 bu/ac, respectively, in reference to the control plot (Fig. 1). It is important to note that the total silicon applied using Sili-Max® solution was substantially lower (0.064 to 0.128 lb Si/ac) than the dry wollastonite and steel slag silicon sources (250 lb Si/ac). The state average wheat yield was low that year due to a mild winter that affected the wheat vernalization. Sili-Max® foliar band had the numerically highest straw yield at 7,941 lb/ac.

The accumulated silica bodies (phytolith) were 0.69% and 0.60% with Sili-Max® foliar broadcast and Sili-Max® foliar band treatments, respectively while the control had 0.53%.

Conclusions
Huma Gro® Sili-Max® applied as foliar band at a rate 3,900 times less than the dry silicon sources contributed to higher grain yield and straw yield, while the application of Sili-Max® as a foliar broadcast at a rate 1,900 times less than the dry silicon sources led to high Si deposition in wheat leaves.

In a recent USDA blog, Spencer Miller states the case for “No-Till November”: Repeated tillage undermines the soil structure and reduces aggregate stability. It breaks down organic matter and drains carbon from the soil.” He quotes Neil Sass, a USDA agronomist, who described the dramatic effect tillage has on soil microbiology as “akin to an earthquake, tornado, and fire happening all at the same time.” And by not inflicting that kind of devastation on the microbiome, “when you have the support of trillions of microbes, you can grow more with less.”

Also, according to Sass, no-till allows the soil to absorb much more water and handle heavy rain, which keeps soil on the field and out of the watershed. He continues, “No-till will save you time and money. You’ll spend less time on your tractor. You’ll use less fuel. You’ll have less wear and tear on your equipment. No-till is a win-win for your soil and for your pocketbook.”

Which is not to say that there is nothing you can do in the fall to help prepare your soil for spring planting and fortify the microbiome. Our Huma Gro® Fertil Humus® product, when applied in the fall, can help degrade any crop residue or crop field trash that’s left behind and convert it to humus over the winter. It also stimulates microbial activity, especially mycorrhizal fungi that have a symbiotic relationship with plant roots. These fungi play a key role in freeing nutrients that are tied up in soil organic matter.

Fertil Humus® will buffer the toxicities of left-over pesticides, breaking their hydrocarbon chains to render them ineffective. It will also decrease phosphorus toxicity (e.g., from over-applied chicken manure) that can lead to zinc-manganese tie-up/deficiency.

For fall after-harvest field application, we recommend Fertil Humus® at 1–2 quarts/acre (2.5–5.0 liters/hectare) as a broadcast spray or flood or furrow irrigated. This will set up your soil for spring planting with better tilth, microbial activity, and nutrient availability.

For more information on Huma Gro® Fertil Humus®click here, or contact a Huma Gro® representative by clicking the button below. For more about our Huma Gro® soil products, click here.

These initial 10 products are currently available for sale to commercial organic growers in Arizona and Florida, and they will soon be registered and available throughout the United States and in several other countries. Products that are currently undergoing review for OMRI listing are in the categories of Soil Fertility, Macronutrients, Liquid Humic and Fulvic Acids, Biopesticides, and Surfactants.

Lyndon Smith, BHN President and CEO, stated, “For years, customers of our bestselling Huma Gro® crop nutrition and protection product line for conventional farming have been asking us to develop a fully organic product line that is also powered by our Micro Carbon Technology®. The folks on our product development team have done an outstanding job with creating the Fertilgold® Organics products, which we think will redefine organic crop nutrition. We are offering a full line of effective products that have been designed to deliver true organic nutrition exactly when, where, and how crops need it. Anyone familiar with the outstanding crop yield and quality results achieved by our Huma Gro® products on the conventional farming side is going to absolutely love what Fertilgold® Organics with Micro Carbon Technology® (for the liquid products) will do for their organic crops.”

More information is available on the Fertilgold® Organics Website (fertilgold.com), which will provide ongoing updates regarding new products, OMRI-Listed status for products, and state registration for each. Blog content will also flow out to followers on Fertilgold® Organics Facebook and Twitter social media channels.